The invention relates generally to nanowires, and, more particularly, to techniques for depositing nanowires and techniques for assembling electronic devices incorporating nanowires.
Nanostructures, and in particular, nanowires are known to have the potential to facilitate a new generation of electronic devices. Significant progress has been made in the area of nanowire synthesis and device application over past several years. Assembly of the nanowires is a critical factor in forming a functional electronic system. In order to effectively employ nanowires in most of the areas of nanotechnology, a controlled and predictable assembly of aligned nanostructures is desirable.
Various assembly techniques have been employed for alignment of the nanowires. Some of the commonly used techniques include direct growth methods for synthesis of nanowires in specific locations and post growth assembly techniques such as microfluidic assembly, electric field assembly, chemical patterning and Langmuir-Blodgett assembly. One specific technique is to apply Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) alignment techniques to align nanowires. The LB technique allows transfer of nanowire monolayers that are fully compressed, from a surface of water to a solid substrate by slowly passing a substrate through an air-water interface. The LB technique may also be used to assemble large area nanowire monolayers.
However, the existing assembly techniques have not been useful in yielding a controlled in-plane alignment and patterning of the nanowires that would make a significant impact in a wide variety of applications such as nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics and molecular sensing. Further, a major impediment to the emergence of a new generation of electronic devices based on nanostructures has been the inability to effectively grow and harvest nanowires that have consistent performance characteristics. Current techniques have not yielded desirable performance characteristics.
Accordingly, an improved assembly technique is needed to address one or more of the foregoing issues.